Poetry-analysisMy-Heart-Leaps-Up.doc

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Poetry analysis:My Heart Leaps Up
Abstract:
My Heart Leaps Up, also known as The Rainbow, is a poem by the British Romantic Poet William Wordsworth. Noted for its simplicity of structure and language, it describes the joy that he feels when he sees a rainbow and notes that he has felt this way since his childhood. He concludes the poem by noting how his childhood has shaped his current views and stating that "the child is father of the man".
Key words: Poet Rhythm Analysis Theme Summary
Wordsworth wrote "My Heart Leaps Up" on the night of March 26, 1802. Earlier that day, he wad written "To The Cuckoo". He was in Dove Cottage, Grasmere with his wife, Mary. After he wrote it he often thought about altering it, but decided to leave it as it was originally written. It was published as part of Poems in Two Volumes in 1807.
Poet:
My Heart Leaps up when I behold
My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky;
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.

Rhythm:
Wordsworth's "My Heart Leaps Up" is made up of 9 lines rhyming, a b c c a b c d d.
The first line is made up of 8 syllables.
The second line is made up of 6 syllables.
The next three lines are made up of 6 syllables each.
The sixth line is made up of  4 syllables.
The seventh line is made up of 8 syllables.
The eighth line is made up of 7 syllables.
The ninth line is made up of  10 syllables.
The rhythm is uniformly iambic, that is, the first syllable is stressed and the second is unstressed.
The eighth line is irregular with the first two feet being iambic and the third feet being a dactyl, that is, the first syllable is unstressed with the following two being stressed:
I could - iambic
wish my - iambic
days to be - dactyl
Analysis:
The speaker begins by declaring that he is moved by nature, and especially by nature's beauty: "My heart leaps up when I behold / A Rainbow in the sky." He goes on to say that he has always felt the impact of nature, even when he was an infant: "So was it when my life began; / So is it now I am a man." The speaker is so certain of his connection with nature that he says it will be constant until he becomes an old man, or else he would rather die: "So be it when I shall grow old, / Or let me die!" In the next line he declares that children are superior to men because of their proximity to nature: "The Child is father of the Man." For this reason, he wishes to bind himself to his childhood self: "And I could wish my days to be / Bound each to each by natural piety."
Theme: The Splendor of Childhood
In Wordsworth’s poetry, childhood is a magical, magnificent time of innocence. Children form an intense bond with nature, so much so that they appear to be a part of the natural world, rather than a part of the human, social world. Their relationship to nature is passionate and extreme: children feel joy at seeing a rainbow but great terror at seeing desolation or decay. In 1799, Wordsworth wrote several poems about a girl named Lucy who died at a young age. These poems, including “She dwelt among the untrodden ways” (1800) and “Strange fits of passion have I known” (1800), praise her beauty and lament her untimely death. In death, Lucy retains the innocence and splendor of childhood, unlike the children who grow up, lose their connection to nature, and lead unfulfilling lives. The speaker in “Ode: Intimations of Immortality” believes that children delight in nature because they have access to a divine, immortal world. As children age and reach maturity, they lose this connection but gain an ability to feel emotions, both good and bad. Through the power of the human mind, particularly memory, adults can recollect the devoted connection to nature of their youth.
Summary :
In this poem, Wordsworth expresses the feeling that his whole life is bound together by his love and respect for 'Nature' i.e. the world of the countryside that is now affected by the action of men. Wordsworth's heart is filled with an overwhelming joy whenever he sees the beautiful rainbow shining in the sky. He felt the joy of seeing the rainbow when he was a child , just as he does now. He even prays that it will be the same when he grows old even until the day he lays down on his death-bed. If his heart is not likely to feel the same joy in his old age whenever he sees the rainbow in the sky, then his wish is to let him die now before growing old.
             Every person is first a child, then a man, so that the character of man grows out of the character of the character of the child., as a son receives his life from his father. The 'natural piety' has two meanings and Wordsworth probably intends both at once: (i) The respect and love which a child  should have for his parents; (ii) Respect and love for Nature.
             Thus Wordsworth's days are bound together because (i) he respects his childhood (the father of his manhood);  (ii) he respects and loves the rainbow, which is one of the beauties of Nature, through all his life.
References:
· ·Bloom, Harold (2001), How to Read and Why, New York
· ·Dowden, Edward; William, Wordsworth (1897), Dowden, Edward, ed., Poems by William Wordsworth, New York: Ginn & Company
· ·Kevin, Moore (1990), The Descent of the Imagination, New York: New York University Press
· ·Sarker, Sunil Kumar (2003), William Wordsworth: A Companion, New Delhi: Atlantic
· ·Twitchell, James (September 2004), "An English Teacher Looks at Branding", The Journal of Consumer Research (The University of Chicago Press)
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